Buzzin' Around

"Buzzin' Around" is the funniest (and most action-packed) of the six Vitaphone shorts which comprise Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's entire talking-picture career. (Of the other five, "Close Relations" and "In the Dough" are only a whisker less funny than "Buzzin' Around".)

More significantly, "Buzzin' Around" features the ONLY team-up of Roscoe Arbuckle and Al St John in a sound film. St John was Arbuckle's nephew, who got into films (at Keystone) with Arbuckle's help. A natural athlete and acrobat, St John did some virtuoso pratfalls and daredevil stuntwork in many silent films for Keystone and other studios ... usually in support of other comedians, but also (with less success) in his own starring series. When Arbuckle starred in his own series of silent comedies at the Comique studio, Al St John came along and did dazzling work as Arbuckle's third banana (seconded by Buster Keaton).

Throughout their silent-film collaborations, Al St John nearly always played Arbuckle's rival ... usually for the affections of the girl. The first time I saw "Buzzin' Around", I expected them to play rivals or enemies here. To my delight, I was wrong. In this movie, Arbuckle and St John are working towards a mutual goal, although mostly in separate scenes. Roscoe plays Cornelius, a hayseed who has invented a varnish which renders pottery unbreakable. He goes off to the big city to demonstrate his invention to some investors, but the varnish has vanished and he accidentally brings along the family's moonshine jug instead of the jug containing his varnish. When St John discovers this, he grabs the proper jug and goes off to rescue Roscoe. But then the two jugs (and the two jugheads) get mixed up with a hive full of bees. Oh, beehive yourself! The precise relationship between the characters played by Roscoe and Al in this film is never explained; they live together in a hillbilly shanty and are apparently brothers, or possibly cousins. Cue the theme from "Deliverance".

It's a joy to see Arbuckle and St John playing allies for once, in their last appearance together. They both do dazzling pratfalls during the climax of this movie, although they appear separately in most of the footage. After this film, alas, Al St John's career dwindled into supporting roles in cheap westerns, and Arbuckle died tragically young.

The "bees" in this movie are actually animation, but they are extremely well drawn and animated, and look quite realistic. Silent-film veteran Arbuckle uses sound quite effectively, especially in a sequence in which Cornelius has swallowed a bee, and weird buzzing sounds replace Arbuckle's voice.

One footnote, or paw-note: In this film, Arbuckle and St John appear alongside a dog named Pete who is a dead ringer for Pete the dog in the 'Our Gang' comedies, including the ring round his left eye. I'm positive that this is NOT the same dog, though he has clearly been made up to look like the original.

IMDb reviewer Ron Oliver has called this film Arbuckle's final curtain call. Not quite. "Buzzin' Around" was the second of Arbuckle's six Vitaphone shorts: it was, however, the last of his films released during Arbuckle's lifetime. The third ("How've You Bean?") was released less than a week after Arbuckle's sudden death. The sixth and last, "Tomalio", is by far the least funny.

"Buzzin' Around" benefits from some interesting location work in a semi-rural section of Brooklyn near Coney Island. "Buzzin' Around" is required viewing for anyone who cares about American film comedy. Rate it ten out of ten: no; let's cheat and rate it an eleven. Make every possible effort to see this hilarious short movie.

This is one of a handful of Fatty Arbuckle movies made as his return to starring in two reelers, now in sound.

The movie has ots of pantomie with sound effects, but it also has speaking roles, including Fatty.

It's directed by a seasoned director who specialized in two reel comedies but also directed Laurel & Hardy in a couple of their best films (and one of their worst).

Pete the Dog from the Little Rascals is also in this.

The movie has a lot of decent gags and although Fatty is a bit aged and a bit slower, he's still pretty funny. I enjoyed it as a curio piece.

Filmed around the Vitagraph/Warner Studios in Brooklyn, NY.

Roscoe Arbuckle has invented a liquid that, when painted on pottery, makes it bounce instead of breaking. He's on his way into town to show it off to manufacturers. However, Al St. John has accidentally switched a jar of hard cider for the invention, and a nest of angry wasps has fallen into Roscoe's car on the way in.

It's a funny and old-fashioned comedy, full of slapstick and sight gags, and sound gags too. More than that, it was a way back for Arbuckle, who had been banned from appearing in the movies after he had been acquitted of murdering Virginia Rappe. Yes, that's right, acquitted, with an apology from the jury. For more than ten years he had worked as a comedy director under a false name. Now Warner Brothers was giving him a chance to appear in front of the camera again in six shorts.

Its pretty amazing to watch the old physical comedy deals.

Some seem to stand the test of time, namely they make me laugh, and I'm a sucker for the pratfall. But this is neither charming nor remotely funny.

I searched this out because it was Fatty's last picture, a dozen years after the scandal.

He was by this time several decades a heroin addict it seems, and still clinging to an endearing, agile fat character.

This short has two halves: an encounter with a beehive and subsequently swallowing a bee, followed by the unrelated destruction of a chinashop.

The events are all designed from well established formulas so what really mattered was the tone of the thing. That tone is set and maintained by the comic nature of the reality created: a funny car, funny pants and walk and so on.

Fatty was able in prior years to create some of that magic; here he simply echoes it, relying on his frequent costar and some gags that have little to do with him.

He was already effectively gone when this was made, showing up only to lend a familiar face at 46.

This is considered the best of his last period. It lacks the manic pace of even moderate Keaton or Chaplin and is at about the level of tiredness as much of Abbot and Costello.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Farm boy Cornelius (Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle) invents a liquid coating which makes anything unbreakable and bounce. He gets a request for a demonstration. His brother Al accidentally switch the jars. A bee hive falls into his vehicle. He swallows a bee. Things keep happening causing non-stop chaos.

First, that's the Target dog. I wonder if there is a copyright situation. I've only seen a couple of Fatty Arbuckle movie and this is probably the best so far. It's one of his comebacks and as a talkie, it has his voice. With nephew Al, they look like Laurel and Hardy. It's a lot of slapstick and mindless destruction. I don't mind it. It's lesser Laurel and Hardy with the Target dog.